Peaches and Plums
by aurelix
Summary: Maybe love is like rain, sometimes gentle, sometimes torrential, steady, joyous, filling the earth, collecting in underground springs. When it rains, when we love, life grows. And Bucky's love for Willow is just like rain.


Sam woke up to Bucky's ached screams once again. Rushing to his room, he storms in to found a mess of a man, hair like he's been eletrocuted, dark bags under his eyes and red nose. Bucky had been crying this time.

"Is itheragain?" He asks. Receiving a shy nod in response. It's been weeks now.

"Plums are good for your memory", the voice startles him, making his metal hand drop the peaches he pressed gently a second before. He take his hand back, like he had been caught doing something wrong. His eyes shyly start to go up the small figure sitting in a stool in by the back of the tent, she winks mischeviously at him. She knew him and he felt in his guts he knew her too, somehow. She wasn't always there, he would have noticed. "Strawberries too, but Thomas's is struggling with his fertilizers".

Bucky nods and moves his hand towards the dark fruits, feeling them in his palm and fingers and asking the old lady how much they cost. He tries to focus, but that girl smile's like the sun and she smells like sea breeze and something sweet. He swallows hard when she get up and walk up to him, searching for his eyes even when attending the small clientele.

The next few days are much more the same. He has a new routine, a good one, and he's more peaceful, even when hidding from Hydra and Shield, than he's ever been before. Sometimes he even dares to look at the girl from a distance, short smiles and sweaty palms when she wears those summer dresses, flowery, light, skirt flowing in the wind like tall grass, spaghetti straps laced right above her shoulders. Her long honey blond hair braided loosely, falling all over her face. The way she greeted every client that came by, warm waves grazing over them every time, reaching him as well. He wanted to know her, something deep within him, an ounce of the men he once was, long time ago, started to bubble up his way when she came into sight. Like not everything was a lost cause.

"How much?" He asks. This time, he looks at her, more soft features as he stretches his hands full of peaches and plums. Smiling when she answered him with a affected smile, highly different from the mechanical - yet kind and welcoming - one she managed to spread along her lips."I'll take one of those too", he points at the numerous jam jars apread across the shelf atop of her head.

"Peach, grape, strawberry or plum?" Theres a hint of amusement in her voice, hands locked behind her back, slender fingers playing with the lace of the dress.

"Strawberry, plea-" "

Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?" She darts out, eyes wide open when she turn to look at paralyzed Bucky with his fruits halfway into the plastic bag.

What?" He stumbles a bit in his words, wariness making his muscles stiffen as he leans back, ready to run away. But he stays. He shouldn't, but he does it anyway.

"I would like to have dinner with you", she sttuters agian, reaching her hand out to him. "I'm Willow, by the way, pleased to meet you".

He takes it in his flesh hand, squeezing tightly and noticing she let out a shaky breath. First meetings must be difficult to her, he tought. But when her thumb gently caressess his, he gulps, dry throat all of a sudden.

"James", he whispers, a faint smile slowly blooming trough his harsh features.

"I can't take her out, it's like fucking torture", he grunts, throwing himself back at the pillows.

"She's probably dead by now, dude. Get over it".

"Yeah, probably".

Years after his return to New York, after Steve's retirement and his new routine was settled, he started remembering stuff before his last blackout. With the words out of his head, that constant fear of his inner demons gone, he could give himself time to remember. And that's when she came to him. Soft features and summer dresses, she was in New York when Thanos's minions came after the stones and caused a ruckus. He saw her in the recordings after everything, after the snap, and his heart sank. She must've been killed in the middle of it and now he had her stuck behind his eyelids almost every night.

"But what if she's not?"

"What are you planning?" Sam tensed as he noticed the serious glim in those stormy blue eyes.

"Don't know yet, but I'll find her".


End file.
